


conspire, as we dream

by ladysonsie



Category: As the World Turns
Genre: Alternate Universe, Christmas Fluff, M/M, Schmoop
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-02
Updated: 2016-01-02
Packaged: 2018-05-11 01:29:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,381
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5608603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladysonsie/pseuds/ladysonsie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A park, a bench and two dogs help two strangers finally have the Christmas each of them had been searching for all along.</p>
            </blockquote>





	conspire, as we dream

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sweetiejelly](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sweetiejelly/gifts).



> Written for sweetiejelly who gave this adorable prompt:
> 
> _Pet!fic AU where their pets fall in love and their lives get entangled as a consequence. Not that they're complaining! Heck, maybe one of them engineered it. My bet's on Luke. ;)_
> 
> Hope this is okay, Ronnie! I tried to follow the prompt as closely as I could. Just fair warning this is STRAIGHT UP CHEESE AND FLUFF. Like, Hallmark called me wanting to copyright all the cheese in this. But I couldn't resist, it's the holidays after all. I hope you had a wonderful New Year and thanks for letting me share my words and dust off the old writing muse. Starting 2016 off like this has been a blast.
> 
> Happy New Year!
> 
> *any and all mistakes are strictly mine. that is what happens when you wait until the last minute and your power goes out - no time for a beta, ha*

Luke was trying to juggle too many things as he kept his eyes darting about looking for an empty bench. It was late enough in November that the air had turned chilled throughout day, which meant the knit gloves his grandmother had made him last Christmas were becoming cumbersome against all the items he was trying to grip. Leash, tennis balls, doggie bags in one hand - his sack lunch and a warm cup of coffee in the other. Grace was plodding along next to him, pulling just enough that his step was quicken testing his balancing skills. She was always excited and Luke glanced down to take a peek at his chubby, slobbering girl and turned a smile up at the corners of his mouth. This was their time and he relished every minute of it.

He was so focused on looking down at her that he didn’t see the cyclist coming straight down the path until it was too late and he was forced to jump onto the frozen grass next to the gravel. Grace let out a bark as he pulled her quickly out of the way, losing all that warmth in the styrofoam cup with it as it went tumbling out of his hands. Slowing soaking into the green blades, his hopes of a jolt of caffeine going with it. The tennis balls went flying into the other direction and he landed squarely face first praying to god _he_ didn’t see this classic Luke Snyder dignified tumble of embarrassment.

Luke quickly popped up, pulling Grace back as she tried to go after that stupid guy in the ridiculous neon cycling outfit and kept trying to quiet her down.

“Shhhh. It’s okay, girl. We’re okay,” he softly cooed as he knelt down beside her petting her patchwork colored fur. “Let’s go get your balls and I promise no more crazy, ugly dressed people on bikes will ruin our lunch.” Luke straightened up, brushed off his pants and glanced around trying to locate her tennis balls.

It was actually the perfect excuse to scan the park looking for _him_. Everyday, same time and same routine. Luke got to witness it all. This dark mop of black, now normally covered with a hat, smooth pale skin buried in an actual book. Luke loved that it was a real book, with a real spine and real type on the creamy paper. It fit so perfectly into his hands, not too large, not too small. Just cradled there like a ball fitting squarely in an old worn leather glove. Always a thermos next to him, opened with a spoon and steam pouring out into the air creating this soft haze around all that insane beauty. As he would read and eat his lunch a large German Shepard would lay at his feet, chewing softly on a bone. The two of them seemingly in their own world a million miles away.

Luke had been watching him for weeks now, which was a little crazy to admit to himself. Was that creepy? Stalkerish? He never followed him or anything, so maybe it was okay. _It was just looking_ , he would always think. _No harm in that._

Luke found one of Grace’s tennis balls and quickly snapped it up but was surprised he couldn’t see the other ball, or his mystery man for that matter, now that he had done a full scan of the park. 

_That’s strange,_ Luke thought. _He’s always here right at this time …”_

No sooner had Luke started to question himself he felt a tap on his shoulder, causing him to jump. “Oh!” he exclaimed, startled at the surprising touch. He whipped around and to his shock, and slight horror, Mystery Book Hunk was standing right there. A smirk on those lips greeting him with a green tennis ball in his palm.

_You didn’t see me fall. You didn’t see me fall. Please, please._ Luke’s brain keep shouting in his head so fast his heart started to pound. But if he said it enough times maybe it'd turn out to be true.

“I saw that jackass run you off the trail,” Mystery Hunk started.

_Shit, shit._

“And when everything went flying I wanted to make sure this girl didn’t lose any of her prized possessions,” he finished as he started to squat down to hand Grace back her ball. “She’s beautiful,” he puffed out into the cold air as he reached out his hand to let Grace take it.

And then, like in slow motion, Luke’s worst nightmare began to unfold. Maybe it was all the commotion from the cyclist. Maybe it was the larger German Shepard sitting there, towering over her. Maybe it was just Grace being protective of her Daddy but instead of gently taking the ball out of his hands, like she’s done a million times before with every other human on this planet, Grace instead knocked it out of his palm and grabbed his finger instead.

With her teeth.

“Ahhhh!” Mystery Hunk shouted as he quickly pulled back. “Ohh, she’s got some sharp ones,” he grunted out as he kept shaking his hand in the air, trying to get the pain to subside Luke was guessing.

_Oh no, oh no, OH NO._

“Grace!” Luke shouted. “Bad girl!” Luke looked down at her and scolded and dammit if he swore he didn’t see that English Bulldog's crinkly mouth almost look liked it smiled. “Oh my gosh, I am so _so_ sorry,” Luke just kept repeating over and over again. “She never does this, I have no idea what’s gotten into her! Let me take a look.” Luke took off his glove and reached for Mystery Hunks’s hand, a jolt shooting straight up his spine as soon as he was able to finally touch him. “At least you had gloves on. She didn't break skin, did she?” Luke asked as he slowly peeled off the black leather, exposing the same pearly smooth skin underneath that he had been fixated on each day he watched him.

“Nah, it’s okay,” Mystery Hunk answered. “It was just a nip. I have a dog, so I know these things happen. I think she was just letting me know who is boss,” he locked eyes with Luke and there was that smile again, only this time Luke got to see those crystal baby blues sparkling back. “I’m Noah, by the way.”

“Luke.”

“Nice to finally meet you, Luke,” Noah said and Luke suddenly felt the flash of heat across his cheeks. “I’ve noticed you seem to come here the same time as I do.”

“Um, yeah,” Luke mumbled, hoping his character study staring sessions were still his little secret and Noah just had noticed him playing wth Grace. “I come here during my lunch break to take Grace out and play with her so she doesn’t stay cooped up in our apartment all day. I’m lucky because I work right around the corner,” Luke shared as he gestured in the direction of his building. “I’m a writer for the local paper and I live close so lunches get to be our time. Isn’t that right, girl,” Luke stuttered out and quickly looked down at Grace so he wouldn’t stay staring into Noah’s eyes. 

He’s acting like a goddamn teenager.

_Get it together, Snyder._

He realized he was still gripping Noah’s hand and suddenly released it, giving him back his extremity.

“Yeah, I take Alfie here everyday day, too,” Noah started, reaching down to pet the top of the still quietly sitting German Shepard next to him. “I work from home so it’s nice to get out at lunch and get this little man some fresh air.”

“Alfie?” Luke asked, a little amused at the choice of name.

“I know, I know. But it’s short for Alfred - after Alfred Hitchcock,” Noah kinda stated sheepishly. “I couldn’t resist.”

“Are you into movies or something?”

Noah kept petting Alfie, scratching behind his ears and Luke kept thinking how well-behaved he was. Grace, on the other hand, was beginning to get restless and was starting to pull on her leash.

Noah let out a small laugh. “You could say that. My dream is to one day make movies, although right now that doesn’t exactly pay the bills so home video editing it is. But at least it allows me the flexibility during the day and I get to work on my own stuff when I can.”

Now Grace had definitely had enough and Luke was having a hard time keeping her next to him. _Just a few more minutes, girl. Please,_ Luke was quietly saying in his head. Maybe he’d get the courage to ask Noah for his number? 

He took a deep breath and started to form the words. "So, um ..."

“Shoot! Look at the time,” Noah interrupted, glancing down at his watch. “I really need to get back, I have a deadline and I’ve been out here with Alfie for a while now.”

Luke quickly brought his lips back together and swallowed his nerves right back into his gut. He just kinda shook his head in agreement trying to bide his time to get out of this situation with some pride still intact.

Noah slowly squatted back down, putting his hand out to let Grace sniff him. Thankfully this time she kept her teeth to herself and instead nuzzled right into his side. “Aw, that’s a girl,” Noah softly let out. “Thank you for letting me be your friend.”

_Thank god, Gracie,_ Luke thought as he watched them together. Alfie then came over and gave Grace a giant lick against her folded wrinkles and Noah and Luke both let out a laugh.

“They like each other!” Luke blurted out, still laughing at the site of this oversized German Shepard licking this squatty, fat bulldog.

“Yeah, I think they do.” Noah stood up and handed Luke Grace’s tennis ball, his skin suddenly pinking at the cheeks Luke noticed.

_Just the windchill,_ Luke reassured himself.

“So, if you are here everyday and I’m here everyday, do you think we could maybe, um ...” Confident Mystery Hunk Noah was starting to echo the teenager jitters of Luke and it warmed his skin right up. Screw the spilled cup of coffee, who needs that when you get to watch this?

“Sit together?” Luke finished, trying to help the guy out.

“Um. yeah. If you want. I mean, the dogs really seem to get along and …” he trailed off and Luke had to keep from jumping up and down like he used to do back at the farm on his bed as a child.

He cleared his throat. “Oh, yeah, the dogs. Well. They _do_ seem to like each other, and it’d be a shame to not let them see each other anymore.”

Noah let that smile come out again and Luke tried to not melt into the frozen grass right along where his coffee was. “Yeah, a shame. So, okay. Same time, same place tomorrow?”

Luke was too afraid that his voice would come out a squeak so instead he just kept nodding really fast and Noah laughed and began to turn away. Luke started to walk Grace back on the path when he heard a voice shout out behind him, so he turned quickly to catch it.

“By the way, I’d give that fall an eight!” Noah shouted. “You still managed to keep your lunch intact so you get two points for that!”

Luke’s face turned beat red and he turned sharply back to Grace, looking down into her big eyes and smiling to himself so big his cheeks puffed up like pastries.

_Tomorrow_.

\---

They met the next day, Noah bringing two spoons with his thermos and Luke bringing Alfie a new bone. They settled down on the bench and played fetch with the dogs while talking. And they kept talking everyday for the next couple weeks. It was like they had always known each other, Luke had never felt so comfortable with someone so quickly before. He had always loved lunch time because of getting to spend time with Gracie, but this had taken it to a whole other level. He’d go to sleep thinking about what they had shared, giddy like a kid on Christmas Eve waiting for the next morning to get to do it all over again.

He learned about Noah’s past, his troubled relationship with his father. Luke’s coming out was hard, but he still had family that loved and supported him thoughout it. He couldn’t imagine being by himself and having to stand up to the Colonel like Noah did. To have the courage to do that, and then to leave to pursue his dreams, inspired Luke in ways he didn’t know possible. He learned how he found Alfie on the street, this matted little ball of a puppy, hungry and cold, and took him in. “All strays need love and a safe place,” Noah had told him and if Luke wasn’t already falling in love that sure as hell put him over the line.

Luke talked about his family, his dreams of becoming a professional writer, not just a reporter for the paper. He showed Noah his words. He had never showed anyone besides reading them to Grace before. Letting someone in like that felt scary - and freeing.

He told him about the farm upstate, his grandmother Emma and the pond. How he use to swim and splash in there with his sisters as kids during the summer and how they used to go ice skating during the winter. He missed being there doing the holidays. Because of work he hadn’t been able to get back home the last couple years and it just wasn’t the same.

He missed the snowy nights by the fire, the hot cocoa, the warm smell of fresh pies swirling thoughout the farm house. "All he wanted," he told Noah, "was a Christmas with snow and carols and a sleigh ride around the pond."

“And to build a snowman,” he had blurted out, suddenly realizing how childish that seemed. They were both in their early thirties, who still wants to put a hat on top of three mounds of snow?

Noah had gotten quiet and had started to fidget with a tennis ball in his hands, both dogs sitting somewhat patiently waiting for him to throw it. Luke was beginning to second guess sharing _too_ much of himself.

“I’ve never done that,” Noah finally spoke, slowly letting the words out. “We weren’t big with …. well let’s just say the holidays were never a huge priority for the Colonel. That sounds nice.”

Noah then threw the ball and they both watched the dogs go chasing after it, letting the silence wrap around them and still the conversation for the moment. 

Luke knew what he wanted to do.

\---

A couple days later it was Christmas Eve and Luke was beginning to worry something had happened. He had been waiting at “their” bench for almost twenty minutes, which was definitely _not_ like Noah to be this late. Luke started to panic he had done something, or scared him off, or maybe Noah realized this was a waste of time or, or, or ...

Just then Alfie came running up to Luke’s feet, his panting owner not too far behind. Luke quietly let out a small sigh of relief and got out his surprise he brought, tucking it against his body so Noah wouldn’t see it quite yet.

“I’m so sorry!” Noah exclaimed, trying to catch his breath as he plopped down. “I wanted to give you this,” he said as he handed Luke a slightly beat up, _and was that chewed?_ , looking present. “But I had to wrestle it away from Alfie first.”

_Aha! Not such a perfect dog after all._ Luke was more pleased about that than he should have been, snickering to himself.

“And I wanted to give you this,” Luke said handing Noah the small bag that he had been waiting with. They both shyly smiled at each other, exchanging looks as the unspoken thoughts that they each brought the other a gift sat with them on the bench giving off an excited energy.

“Same time?” Luke asked.

“Same time,” Noah answered.

Noah reached into the red and silver tissue paper to pull out the plush snowman Luke had found at a children’s shop. It had a hat and gloves and a silly grin plastered against its white material. Noah immediately started laughing, the sound pulling straight down into Luke’s heart.

After sneaking a peek of Noah opening his gift Luke returned his attention back to his torned up snowflake paper. He ripped it open and pulled out a green box, opening the lid with a cocked head and inquisitive expression against his face. He had no idea what this could be.

Noah had stopped laughing and was just watching and waiting intently for Luke to finish getting his fingers under the lid to see what was in there.

Luke pulled out a heavy object, wrapped in gold paper. When he finally got everything away it revealed a snow globe . A beautiful, antique snow globe that had a small cottage and a pond and a sleigh in it and when you shook it small flecks of sliver and white sparkles fell from the night sky, illuminating the entire picture perfect scene.

“It's your farm,” Noah softly said. “You couldn’t go home so I thought …”

Luke quickly put it down and reached over, grabbing Noah’s face to pull him in for a slow kiss. He tasted like mint and the dark roast they had been drinking, his lips fitting perfectly against Luke’s as they let their mouths linger, feeling each other for the first time. It was everything Luke had been dreaming about since the very first time he saw him, the same shiver down his spine coming back but instead of nerves it was a feeling of being safe.

Of being _home._

When they finally parted, Noah’s lips still slightly pursed and pink at the edges, Luke found himself suddenly with something else he wanted Noah to have this Christmas.

“I love you,” he blurted out as to not lose his sudden bravado. “I’m so in love with you.”

Noah just smiled, staring back at Luke for moment, making Luke’s feet curl up in his boots in anticipation. “Same here,” Noah shared back, biting his bottom lip making Luke eager for another taste.

They both started leaning in for another kiss when their patient audience had about enough and started each barking at them.

“Ha! I think they are saying they want our attention back,” Noah laughed out, grabbing Luke’s hand and pulling him in close.

Luke shook his head. _That’s his Gracie_. He threw the ball and watched them both go chasing after it again, not a care in the world.

_This was perfect_ , he thought.

“Oh, one more thing,” Noah said as he reached back down into the box for the snow globe. He turned it on and suddenly the soft musical notes of one of Luke’s favorite Christmas carols breezed around all of them.

_Sleigh bells ring, are you listening,_  
_In the lane, snow is glistening_  
_A beautiful sight,_  
_We're happy tonight._  
_Walking in a winter wonderland._ _Gone away is the bluebird,_  
_Here to stay is a new bird_  
_He sings a love song,_  
_As we go along,_  
_Walking in a winter wonderland._ _In the meadow we can build a snowman,_  
_Then pretend that he is Parson Brown_ _He'll say: Are you married?_  
_We'll say: No man,_  
_But you can do the job_  
_When you're in town._

“I think I finally have a better Christmas memory than the farm,” Luke stated, looking up at Noah as he gently pressed his lips once again against his. 

“And I have my first,” Noah returned back.

They settled back against the slated bench, watching the dogs play and listening to the music spin from Noah’s gift. The steam from the thermos softly floating around the both of them now, creating the hazy warmth of what Christmas brings.

_Later on, we'll conspire,_  
_As we dream by the fire_  
_To face unafraid,_  
_The plans that we've made,_  
_Walking in a winter wonderland._


End file.
